Martinez-Parra’s Republican opponent, Crystal Diamond from Sierra County, also did not answer questions from the Sun.
Martinez-Parra successfully beat 34-year Democratic incumbent John Arthur Smith in the June primary. He is said by many to be second in power, just beneath the Governor, since he heads up the powerful finance committee that can make or break legislation and also keep it off the senate floor, killing it before it passes out of that committee.
She lives in Lordsburg and recently revealed to the Albuquerque Journal in an interview that she has retired as a special-education teacher.
Her platform, as seen on her website, neomi4nmsenate.com, is vague.
Healthcare access in rural areas is a problem, the website states, giving the example of her mother and having to drive her great distances for medical appointments. Rural hospitals are “understaffed and underfunded,” she states, without giving a solution to either problem. “Healthcare is a right,” she says, which is a liberal-Democrat phrase used to call for nationalized, one-payer healthcare run by the government, but Martinez-Parra doesn’t specifically state she supports it.
Housing and infrastructure and small businesses are spoken of together, as if they are interlocking problems, without being specific in this platform plank. Public housing has long wait lists, she says. Infrastructure is lacking. Local businesses have had to close “because of difficult conditions.”
Education, similar to healthcare, also seems to be a rural problem, with students not given “equal access to quality education.” As an special-education teacher she says she provided “safe haven” for students in her classroom. Poverty and homelessness are also rural-student problems. She supports teachers and teachers’ unions, she says.
Environment is limited to “preserving public lands” in this plank, while also ensuring public access to those lands.
Immigration is a federal issue, she states, “but I support fixing immigration laws.”
The following questions were asked, but remain unanswered.
1. Please explain why you are limiting constituent and press contact to a campaign website that forces one to write emails in a prescribed box on your website that makes records retention and tracking, especially for a reporter, difficult? It also is a small box that doesn’t allow for much scope. I did get an email address from a supporter of yours, but that was just lucky.
2. Your website platform issues are vague. Crystal Diamond, your Republican opponent, has been accused of running a “culture war campaign,” partly because of her extremely vague platform that seeks to retain “traditional values.” Your campaign doesn’t allude to a traditional culture, whatever that is, but your planks lack similar definition. Do you think voters don’t want to know particulars? Is this vagueness based on some advice not to go into detail?
3. As an educator, did you see the rise and fall of Common Core? It is gone and New Mexico is going to state testing. Common Core was a national test that made it possible to compare states’ performance, with New Mexico ranking near the bottom. Will the National Assessment of Educational Performance tests for rising 4th and 8th graders be used so the public can know how New Mexico is performing? The state chose Istation for K-3rd grade testing. Istation has horrible reviews from teachers, parents and students and no formal analysis and it requires small children to sit at computers with no teacher interference to safeguard test results. Do you agree with this testing choice? PSAT/SAT was chosen for upper classes and Cognia for middle grades. What do you think about these testing choices?
4. I have received three Republican mailings that state you were “sanctioned by the state of New Mexico and the IRS for refusing to pay over $100,000 in taxes. I emailed the public action committee that authored the mailings, The Council For a Competitive New Mexico, and asked for their sources, to which they did not respond. I checked court records and the IRS website. In court records I found a Barclays Bank complaint for debt. I found nothing on the IRS website. Without a fulsome explanation, the public would probably doubt your ability to limit spending or to stay within a budget. Please give a fulsome explanation of the New Mexico state taxes that may not have been paid, the federal taxes that may not have been paid and the money owed to Barclays Bank.
5. The Council for a Competitive New Mexico also claims “Outside groups are spending a fortune to get [you] elected. These funds have been traced back to special interest groups in Washington, D.C. [that are] trying to buy influence in our state.” Do you have national support? How much money have national public action committees given to you? The implication is you are a “puppet” for these outside groups. Please respond.
6. What, specifically, would you do to improve healthcare for New Mexicans?
7. You claim, on your website, that current policies are hurting local economies. Please explain.